Luke Sewell - Career Statistics

Career Statistics

In a 20 year major league career, Sewell played in 1,630 games, accumulating 1,393 hits in 5,383 at bats for a .259 career batting average along with 20 home runs, 696 runs batted in and an on base percentage of .323. He retired with a .978 fielding percentage. As a catcher, Sewell had a strong throwing arm, leading the American League four times in baserunners caught stealing and four times in assists.

Even for the era, Sewell's low strikeout numbers were remarkable. He never struck out more than 27 times in a season, and his career best was just 16 strikeouts in 451 at bats in 1936. Sewell held the American League record of 20 seasons as an active catcher until Carlton Fisk surpassed the record with 24 seasons as an active catcher with the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971-80) and the Chicago White Sox (1981-93). He caught three no-hitters in his career; Wes Ferrell in 1931, Vern Kennedy in 1935, and Bill Dietrich in 1938. In his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, baseball historian Bill James ranked Sewell as the fourth best catcher in the American League during his career. James ranked Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey and Rick Ferrell as the top three, all of whom were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sewell and his brother Joe, rank eighth on the all-time list of combined hits by brothers, with 3,619. Besides his brother, Joe Sewell, a Hall of Fame shortstop, he had another brother named Tommy Sewell, who had one at-bat with the Chicago Cubs.